So we gamely tried on the blazer. $189, but oh, how it fit. My heart swelled. My little boy, now a young man!

All the way home I prayed about the best way to get that Brooks Brothers jacket. Should I head straight to Goodwill, or log on to Ebay? Should I break down and buy it new?

I felt a tugging in the back of my mind. Hadn't I bought a navy blazer at the church rummage sale last year? But surely it was a size 10 or 12; in November, it had hung off his shoulders like a scarecrow.

I pulled down the box at the tiptop of the closet. There at the bottom was the very same size 8, Brooks Brothers blazer that we had tried in the store.

I'm so glad I'm not the only mom who appreciates the miracles that God sends my way almost daily. He really does delight in pleasing us.

I usually find something miraculous at our church thrift store and the other day prayed for "my miracle" as I entered. I had one small thrill, but couldn't classify it as supernatural.

Afterward, I met my friends for lunch and when I went to the bathroom a young woman looked down at my shoes and made a comment that we both like to wear little footie sock with our flat shoes. She raved about her brand and how they never slip down. I agreed, but commented how hard it is for me to get to a store that sells them and joked that if I can't find something at the grocery store I usually have to do without.

Later, she stopped by my table with a brand new pair in their wrapper - which she had "mysteriously" found in her purse. She dropped them in my lap, smiled and said, "Happy Mother's Day" and walked off. My two friends looked at me and asked what just happened. I told them, but knew in reality it was my little miracle for the day.

Wow! Isn't God a wonderful husband? A couple years ago, I was wishing for some cute little striped toe socks in fall colors - I thought they would be the perfect fall accessory, but there's no way I could justify buying them. A week or two later, I went to pick up some clothes from Freecycle. They were all very dated 80's clothes, but on the top of the bag sat a brand new pair of striped, fall-colored toe socks! I thought it was such a sweet, romantic gesture - like Jesus was saying, "No, you don't need them, but I just wanted to make you smile, so I got them for you!" :-D

You cried, just as I did when an unexpected box of hand-me-down clothes contained all the essentials that I needed (khaki pants, white button-down, dress socks, and even shoes) for my five year old, who had outgrown what we had on hand, to wear in my sister's wedding. We already had a navy blazer and tie; God was so good to complete the ensemble at no cost!

Umm...just how many times do you get luck like this? Oh, just about every time.

I really love reading your blog but I'm starting to log on just to see how serendipitous your day has been.

You ALWAYS find the right thing at a thrift store or rummage sale. In fact, moments before you leave for this trip the PERFECT dress that makes you look, oh, so, beautiful will magically appear. I can't wait to hear about that story, too.

In fact, that's exactly why I shared the trouble I was having finding a dress for myself. It's NOT always so easy. In fact, it makes me extra grateful for the times when something does practically fall in my lap.

I do think I've acquired a level of skill in picking up things as or just before I need them.

I also believe it helps to be willing to think outside the box with secondhand items.

Did I have a navy blazer in mind to begin with? No. I was looking for another pair of seersucker pants or a cute linen outfit for him. So I'm clearly not "ordering up" something I wanted.

Someone who is not Christian might call it "being open to the universe"--where in my world view, I think of it as something more than coincidence.

your situation is exactly why i always pick up a blazer (super cheap ) in consecutive sizes just to have on hand...at 2$ its worth the investment, and i love to hand them down to those who need one desperately....

Meredith, you said "in my world view, I think of it as something more than coincidence"

I agree that it's way more than coincidence - it's God. Things falling into place just perfectly are always such wonderful "evidence" to me of how God provides for our EVERY need - no matter how big or how small. How wonderful he is! He had the answer to Andrew's outfit already there - before you even knew what he was going to wear. I love that story, Meredith - and I thank you for sharing such a wonderful testament to how great our Heavenly Father truly is!

Andrew will look gorgeous for sure. Before I had kids I didn't understand the dressing them up for portraits, special occasions but now I do: we all see our children as perfect little miracles and sometimes we really want the world (including perhaps extended family inclined to judge one's lifestyle choices) to see the perfection too and not be distracted by snotty noses or messy clothes. As for world view, I don't think I'll ever understand the idea that Yahweh is helping shoppers find particular bargains, but you know what, I don't need to--it's your spiritual life not mine and I'm just a lucky reader of your blog!

I'm not entirely comfortable with saying that as a point of doctrine. Otherwise, why are there so many deserving people in need? However, when things like this happen in my own life, neither do I want to write it off as just a coincidence.

Either way, I try to have a grateful heart and give thanks to the God I believe provides all things:

--whether it's by helping me remember something I already had,

--by giving me the talent to find things that my family needs

--or by, as some suggest, taking care of even the little things in a way that is mysterious to me.

And a beautiful point you made about other traditions calling it "open to the universe." To me, that says God provides for all His children, everywhere, whether they've found him yet or no. I love it, and I'm so glad it's all coming together for you!

Be grateful that your family members didn't want tuxes for the little guys. I was THRILLED last year when my sister-in-law decided against a tux for my son, the ringbearer. They cost the same as adult tuxes to rent - $189, I think, can you believe? She was initially going to have the ushers (of which my husband was one) wear tuxes as well - we would have had to say no to two tux rentals in the family. As it was, hubby and son just rented the ties - significantly cheaper.

I love the beauty of those moments when God lets us know that he's in command by answering our needs far ahead of the point where the need arises!

He does that both here in our privilege world and in the third world countries too. I grew up in Bangladesh and came to Canada when I was 14. I remember one study funded by some government not of B'desh that was trying to develop a way to get healthy clean water to those who couldn't afford to gather enough fuel to boil the water to purity. I remember hearing of all of the methods they tried. It turns out that one of the best methods and nearly the most effective was to have the woman fold her sari (the traditional dress) into several layers and place it tightly over the mouth of her water vessel. This resulted in almost pure uncontaminated water.

The cost? Very minimal as almost every woman there owns such a garment. The benefits? HUGE! Like your moment, it can seem truly insignificant but if we step back and really see we can see the hand of the Author of Life in all of these moments and truly praise him for blessing all of us!

Yes, always share these moments! We all need to be reminded and we all can be encouraged through the 'fellowship of believers!'

I cried reading this post, Meredith. It encourages me to keep trusting God for the things we need, too. Now for the rest of the outfit: Do you already have the items suggested by the Brooks Brothers salesman, or will you buy them? Are you going to follow his suggestions exactly, or just improvise? I'd love to see the entire outfit that you assemble. Think Andrew would model it for us ladies here that read your blog? Sort of a "wedding preview"? SusanPS- I LOVED the comment about Thurston Howell....I loved Gilligan's Island growing up, and I had a wonderful, funny, mental image of the wedding crowd you'll be interacting with once you categorized it this way!! Any more developments as far as what YOU are going to wear? Maybe if Andrew's look is that of Thurston Howell, your look needs to be that of Mrs. Howell, aka, "Lovey"!

God is good! What a serendipitous moment, and so glad it happened to someone as sweet as you. I must admit I like to browse the racks at Brooks Brothers and have never had the good fortune of finding that brand at thrift sales. Your son will look absolutely handsome in his blazer, and I know that you, too, will find the perfect outfit for the wedding!

Andrew will look absolutely adorable in that blazer. I can picture it so easily.

I used to have moments like that too.

"Father I need a tuxedo shirt in size X to wear for work, I can't afford to buy a new one." and there would be 6 shirts in the right size on the rack at Value Village the day I went. It's amazing every time.

Well, I would have been very excited to realize that I had a blazer at home but personally, I doubt that God cares whether Andrew is in Brooks Brothers, but nontheless a jacket was provided, and I think you are just plain lucky it happened to be Brooks Brothers. I am sure that Elise will be in Strasburg or some equally nice dress, so back to you, Mom. If you considered paying $200 for a jacket for Andrew then do not even consider wearing a dress from Target or Kohl's, for goodness sake (you know the other women will be in designer clothes). Keep looking for a wow dress or a seamstress to make you a wow outfit so that you look as good as your children. I would love to see a family picture when you are dressed for the wedding. I am sure you all will look grand. May I ask the destination?

I saw the brown leather closed toe sandals for boys in wide/extra wide sizes on sale at our Stride Rite store. My 6 year olds are going into 2nd grade so we went with the sport sandals, but the leather ones were so cute that I was tempted to buy them for church shoes. Check and see if they're on sale for you too. 24.99 is a good price when I need to get the width to fit and can only get Stride Rite or New Balance for the twins.

Finally catching up on my Google Reader and saw this post from last week. I love it. It's so touching and a testament to your faith. :)

P.S. Meredith, would you please consider switching to the comment form that doesn't open in a new window? (Just go to Settings, then Comments, and click on the appropriate option.) My computer tends to slow down while the window is opening. Thank you!